UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 425 



OflSce of the Secretary 



Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 



W. J. SPILLMAN, Chief 



SU^ ^^U 



Washington, D. C. 



October 24, 1916 



FARMING ON THE CUT-OVER LANDS OF MICHIGAN, 

 WISCONSIN, AND MINNESOTA. 



By J. C. McDowell, Agriculturist, and W. B. Walker, Assistant Agriculturist. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Summary 1 



Description of the area 3 



Tyi>e of farming 4 



Crops 6 



Live stock 7 



Relation between income and tillable area. . . 9 



Size of farm 10 



Unimproved land 11 



Land clearing 13 



Family income 14 



Labor income 14 



Cropping systems and rotations 18 



Efficiency and distribution of labor 21 



Home and farm supplies 21 



Community breeders' associations 22 



Selecting a farm 22 



General suggestions 23 



The cut-over district of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and. Minne- 

 sota comprises an area of about 80,000,000 acres which is rapidly 

 being developed into farms. This bulletin is based on data secured 

 from an analysis of a year's business on 801 farms typical of this area, 

 an investigation of farm enterprises on 80 of these farms, and a 

 general study of farm practice in various parts of the district covering 

 a period of several years. The purpose of these investigations was to 

 discover the more profitable farm practices and the factors essential 

 in the development of the region. 



SUMMARY. 



L In this district net profits increase as tillable area increases. 

 How to enlarge the tillable area economically is the first and most 

 important agricultural problem of this region. Under present con- 

 ditions the clearing of land is expensive, usually costing from |20 to 

 §60 an acre. 



2. A large acreage of unimproved land is likely to prove an 

 unprofitable! investment unless it can be utilized for wood products or 

 pasture. If, however, its development into tillabh^ land is possible, 



Note.— ThiH bulletin Is iiwued to meet the demand for a publication dealing in a popular manner with tho 

 essential problemx of thi.s reKlon. 

 .5.5471 •—Hull. 42.5—16 1 



